Marginal flaps? Ganna’s baggy skinsuit and stacked team car under scrutiny; I’m Gonna Bee (500 Miles): Andy Burnham says miserly active travel figures “wrong”; Lack of bike storage hinders commute; ITV on Highway Code changes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Marginal flaps? Ganna’s loose-fitting skinsuit under scrutiny
As Filippo Ganna powered to victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné yesterday, the more nerdy corners of Cycling Twitter began speculating about a possible new breakthrough for the Ineos Grenadiers and their aero guru Dan Bigham.
That ground-breaking new discovery? Eh… baggy elbows, apparently.
With more than one Ineos rider having these flaps around the elbow, Ineos history and Bigham as staff this is no accident.
Didn’t see similar in the Jumbo suits. Another aero breakthrough by Bigham? https://t.co/CaGkChI99E
— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022
My guess is that they are cut to be tight with elbows bent on the aero bars. The downside is that it’s looser with straight arms on the base bars. But I’m no aerodynamicist/tailor.
— Josh Warburg (@jcwarburg) June 8, 2022
They were definitely experimenting with suits then. Ganna had a different one from Hayter and arms could probably be tighter but today was a completely different level. If that wasn’t planned it was complete sabotage aerowise
— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022
If by some weird twist of fate it turns out that saggy elbow flaps are actually aero, I would laugh so hard 😂
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) June 8, 2022
Some, however, have claimed that Ganna (like any mediocre club ten rider) was merely wearing arm warmers underneath his time trial suit.
According to one Twitter user, who posted a photo of Ganna warming down in short sleeves, the arm warmers probably slipped during his stage-winning effort, causing him to resemble a trackie-wearing teenager from the 1990s (that’s Tour-winning attention to detail right there).
@anewcd found the probably answer. Ganna didn’t wear a long sleeved suit. The “arm warmers” probably slipped up a bit after 30km riding and created that unintentional flap. Also explains the double wc bands https://t.co/EQi78y6FUr
— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022
That claim has been countered by other tech geeks, who maintain that the world champion’s suit is indeed “optimised for bent arms”:
Definitely not wearing the same suit in that picture, as he wore on the ride! His TT suit is one piece with long sleeves. I think it’s optimised for bent arms!
— Neil McGurk (@mcgurk_neil) June 9, 2022
To be fair, if loose-fitting cycling clothing and shoddy arm warmers really were the key to success, I’d have cleaned up back in the day…
While ‘90s Kevin and Perry chic was enough to propel Ganna to victory by two seconds over the more streamlined Wout van Aert, Ineos teammate Ethan Hayter adopted an even more novel approach to time trialling, on his way to third place:
Sorry but as a contact lens wearer, for Ethan Hayter to put in THAT performance despite losing his visor is some king shit. A light breeze is enough to discombobulate me when I’m wearing mine 😅 #Dauphine #Dauphiné2022
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) June 8, 2022
Is marginal sight the new marginal gain?
Speaking of not so marginal gains...
I wonder how far this old trick pushes up against that fabled “thin blue line”?
This really needs to stop, on top of fact that car is likely too close to him anyway. Given calculations i’ve seen likely it gave him the win over Wout#Dauphine2022 pic.twitter.com/PRuyqTgY9G
— G Hofman (@letstalkcycling) June 9, 2022
What do you think about this latest piece of TT skulduggery, one also employed – though to a lesser extent – by Jumbo-Visma yesterday (but not, interestingly, for Ganna’s Ineos teammate Ethan Hayter)?
Does stacking the car roof with a frankly unnecessary wall-like amount of spare bikes (which, studies have shown, if driven close enough to the rider can push them along) give certain teams an unfair advantage which should be banned?
Or is all fair in love and time trialling, and are teams adopting this tactic simply and successfully pushing the boundaries of the existing rules?
Popcorn at the ready: ITV “investigates the biggest changes to the Highway Code”
Set your VHS for 8.30pm this evening, as ITV’s Tonight show takes on the recent changes to the Highway Code (there were changes? Why did nobody tell me?).
Popcorn at the ready for ITVs Tonight programme “Who Rules Britains Roads?” tomorrow at 20:30 “investigates the biggest changes to the Highway Code”
They are using some of the close passes from my video compilation https://t.co/xiozQFggmS— Bikery (@Bikery1966) June 8, 2022
Can’t say the programme’s needlessly provocative title fills me with much hope, mind you – presenting Britain’s roads as a place of conquest, rather than a shared space for all road users, isn’t the most sensible strategy from the outset, I’m sure you’d agree.
But surely it can’t be worse than Countryfile’s recent segment on cycling safety, described on social media as “vile”, “disgraceful” and an “utter shitshow triggering anti-cycling hatred”.
The bar’s pretty low, to be fair…
But if you do find yourself screaming at the telly at half eight tonight, you can always flick over to ITV4 for highlights from the Women’s Tour. Much better.
Two million cyclists put off riding to work by lack of storage
According to new research from Direct Line Cycling Insurance, over two million cyclists have said they are discouraged from cycling to work due to a lack of adequate storage facilities.
Yesterday on the blog we reported that Cycling UK was taking advantage of Bike Week to tell employers to do more to persuade their staff to ride into work, such as providing financial incentives along with adequate storage and changing facilities.
Cycling UK’s stance has been backed up by a new study which suggests that three-quarters of cyclists are put off riding to work due to a range of factors, including: a lack of suitable bike storage, shower or changing facilities, the distance, difficulty and danger of the route to work, and variable weather conditions.
2.1 million cyclists said that a lack of storage space in their office was a barrier to their commute, while eight percent of those surveyed revealed that they used to have storage, but it has since been removed due to reduced office space.
Direct Line’s research also claims that 56 percent of all cyclists in the UK use their bike to commute to work, with a fifth cycling to work every day.
Those who commute frequently are also more likely to spend big on their bikes, with those cycling to work splashing out on average £873 on their machines (compared to an average spend for all cyclists of £554).
Breaking pro cycling news: Adam Blythe wears socks!
Finally, one of the sport’s great unsolved mysteries has finally been put to rest, by the style icon himself…
People worrying about my socks… why does it bother you that you can see ankle…? Because I do wear socks!!?? pic.twitter.com/6B1D5sRyKU
— Adam Blythe (@AdamBlythe89) June 8, 2022
Some marginal socks there, eh Adam? Marginal socks, geddit? Ah, I give up…
Bee Network blunder: New Greater Manchester strategy document says 60 miles of active travel routes to be built by 2024 – over 1,700 miles short of previous target… but Andy Burnham claims figure is wrong
Greater Manchester’s Bee Network of cycling and walking routes – once heralded as a “potential national blueprint” for active travel in the UK – has taken a bit of a hit in recent times… Well, that’s if you believe the region’s new strategy document for 2030 (which, according to GM mayor Andy Burnham, you shouldn’t).
Just over two years ago, in January 2020 (ah, those halcyon days), Burnham and the area’s then-cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman published a report entitled ‘Change a Region to Change a Nation’, highlighting the Bee Network’s ability to act as a model for others to follow to help tackle the climate emergency, reduce congestion and benefit public health.
According to the report, 1,800 miles of protected space for cyclists and walkers would be implemented over the following decade, resulting in a projected 350 per cent increase in daily cycling trips, from 100,000 to 450,000. Daily walking trips were also expected to rise by a third under the scheme, from 1,480,000 a day to 2,050,000.
But since that report, Boardman has left to take on the role of interim commissioner of Active Travel England, a new body tasked with implementing the government’s Gear Change strategy.
And a new strategy document, released today, appears to show a drastic scaling back of the Bee Network’s ambitions.
According to the Greater Manchester 2030 brochure, 100 kilometres of walking and cycling routes are set to be installed by 2024, a long way short of the original target of 1,800 miles by 2029:
Interesting nugget in the Greater Mamchester 2030 strategy about the Bee Network. Original @chris_boardman vision was for 1,800 miles of safe cycling and walking routes by 2029. Now they are aiming to build just 100km of it by 2024. pic.twitter.com/pC0hg8nCD3
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) June 9, 2022
Trying to do the maths quickly, is that a thirtieth of the original goal? In what proportion of the time (I’m thinking CB out his goal forward in 2019?), half of the time?
— Dave (@PequodDave) June 9, 2022
Dire.
— Owler Nook (@Owler_Nook) June 9, 2022
However, as any live blogger knows all too well, typos happen (especially in major regional strategy documents), and Andy Burnham’s press team soon got in touch with Guardian journalist Helen Pidd to clarify that the 100km claim was a simple mistake.
Instead, Burnham says that “the target is to deliver 500 miles of cycling/walking routes by 2024” and that the completion of the entire 1,800 Bee Network by 2029 is still very much on the cards.
A lot less dire.
— Owler Nook (@Owler_Nook) June 9, 2022
You just can’t find a descent editor these days…
You learn something new every day, even when you’re Ned Boulting…
I have only just discovered that “critérium” (if French) is the name given to events in certain sports which are not, in themselves, championships. I didn’t know that. I now do.
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) June 9, 2022
So one can’t be a Crit Champion!?! 😆
— BILLY ANDERSON (@BillyMikeKY) June 9, 2022
Flapsgate update: Bioracer staff member says new fabric “is significantly faster but not as elastic”
With Top Ganna’s baggy elbows sparking some debate this morning, a staff member from Bioracer – Ineos Grenadiers’ kit supplier – got in touch with road.cc to clear a few things up.
The staffer, who says he drove the time trial world champion’s skinsuit to the Ineos team hotel overnight from Belgium before the stage, told us:
“The suit was long sleeve, standard model (as in the “standard model” we make for him and all the team – albeit his exact pattern fit), with welded seams (as is now standard on our Speedmaster versions).
“The baggy elbows are due to the sleeves and forearms fabrics being not quite as elastic as the “old” lycra previously used here.
“The new fabrics need to be cut and welded to perfectly fit when in the tuck position, slightly baggy when not obviously.
“The new fabric is significantly faster when used correctly, but not as elastic.”
Well, that clears that up (hopefully).
Now, on to the whole team car situation…
Women’s Tour: Grace Brown takes stage and leader’s jersey after frenetic finale in Welshpool
The GC battle began in earnest on stage four of the Women’s Tour into Welshpool, as FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope’s Grace Brown took her first win of the season, beating Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini in a three-up sprint after an exhilarating finale.
The trio, who had been part of a ten-rider move which forged clear of the bunch on the lumpy Welsh terrain, contested the stage after Brown had attacked with around four kilometres to go, with Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma putting in a serious shift to catch the flying Aussie.
The Italian champion Longo Borghini, lacking the acceleration of her rivals, was unsurprisingly the first to launch the sprint, with a confident Brown patiently biding her time before surging by for a convincing victory.
Grace Brown (@FDJ_NAqui_Fut) wins stage four of the Women’s Tour in Welshpool 🏆#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/ZIGAAxuTVo
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 9, 2022
With tomorrow’s queen stage, and a summit finish on Black Mountain, awaiting the Women’s Tour peloton, new race leader Brown will be hoping she can maintain her sparkling form on the race’s highest slopes.
Lead image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
Critérium du Dauphiné: Van Aert learns his lesson to take second stage win
𝓤𝓷𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 finish to Stage 5!
Wout van Aert snatches victory on the line, just ahead of Jordi Meeus, in a warp speed bunch sprint #Dauphiné pic.twitter.com/FG9jjF7R4X
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 9, 2022
They say every second counts, but I’m sure Wout van Aert was relieved to avoid yet another runners-up spot at the Critérium du Dauphiné today, taking his second win of the week after two near misses in a row.
The Belgian champion even learned his lesson following Tuesday’s surprise defeat to David Gaudu, and threw his bike at the line to fend off a strong sprint from Jordi Meeus in Chaintré.
While the ghosts of stage three were firmly exorcised, Van Aert must also have worried that he was reliving Monday’s ride to Brives-Charensac, as a spirited four-man breakaway was only swallowed up by the Jumbo-Visma lead out train in the final 250 metres.
Ineos’ Ethan Hayter, living up to his consistent mini-WVA reputation, was yet again there or thereabouts, finishing third.
While Van Aert successfully tore up the looming ‘nearly man’ script, Dylan Groenewegen must be concerned that he is getting typecast – the BikeExchange rider was again shelled out the back after pressure from Jumbo-Visma and Ineos (Filippo Ganna’s jersey flapping in the wind) on the small climbs that characterised the finale, and failed to contest the sprint.
With tougher days to come, the Dutch sprinter’s time in the spotlight has come to an end. Van Aert, meanwhile, will surely aim to maintain his starring role.
The only kind of sportswashing I’ll stand for…
Sports washing? Moi! pic.twitter.com/hUhOm0ZC0S
— Paul Kimmage (@PaulKimmage) June 9, 2022
Bikes, bikes, bikes! Stranded stag do party buy bikes to make it home after flight cancelled
This Saturday will mark my third stag do of 2022 (one of which was my own), so it’s safe to say that I’m pretty much over them by now.
And just for the record, the most exotic of those outings was to Bristol (and two of them were twenty minutes from my house) – none of this Magaluf nonsense…
Anyway, a group of lads, lads, lads made the Mirror today after their flight home from a stag weekend in Amsterdam was cancelled.
After deciding to board the ferry from Calais, they were then told that due to health and safety rules, foot passengers weren’t permitted on the day’s final boat, but those with bikes were allowed.
Cue montage, as the fourteen fellas scurried about Belgium and northern France in what must have resembled a low-budget, less angry version of Top Gear, buying bikes ranging from £40 iron gates to lofty £200 machines online and from local second-hand shops.
Unfortunately, the lads didn’t organise a post-stag Lille-Calais 100km sportive, and instead got taxis (at £300 a pop) to the port. Spoil sports.
So if we’ve learnt anything from this experience (I’m sure someone has, somewhere), it’s that stag weekends are horrible, and bikes are great.
Now a proper cycling stag do, that’s another matter entirely…
I’m Gonna Bee (500 Miles)
Before I sign off for tonight, I have to thank reader AlsoSomniloquism for pointing out that under Andy Burnham’s revised estimate for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, “you could walk (cycle) 500 miles but will have to wait several more years to walk (cycle) 500 more”.
If I have to have “Da-da da da (da-da da da)” in my head all evening, so do you…
9 June 2022, 08:56
9 June 2022, 08:56
Yet more pre-Tour tech updates...
Pogacar's mystery Tour de France recon bike revealed to be Colnago Prototipo
The Prototipo is still in development phase, but Pogacar’s UAE team will have the bike available for in-race final testing… and yes, the name does mean prototype
9 June 2022, 08:56
9 June 2022, 08:56
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Sadly yes, the UCI does need to apply some thought before this all gets to the peleton. It can't be caught banning rider protection, but we can definitely predict: - Some riders seeing airbags as a reason to take risks that they previously would have avoided. - Rules around what happens to a rider when their airbag actually deploys (rather than the dodgy head impact roadside checks we currently see, it would allow a clean 'your out rule' - but teams are never going to like that, especially in multiday races (probably part of why the head impact accelerometers used in other sports haven't appeared in cycle helmets)). - Teams using them as a method to also sneak in aerodynamic advantages. Without some rules it will turn into an all out design war with rider cooling and actual effectiveness of the airbags taking a rear seat). - Cost. Arguments about what happens when some of a race have airbags but not all. Does it need to be mandated as all or none, and if so, at what level of racing?
Note that Deda measures handlebars outside to outside. So you need to deduct 2cm to obtain the center to center width for each listed size.
Well in a sense, it ended up being their own money they wasted, and presumably they are a tax payer, so maybe the software knew what it was doing to start with.
Victims, not witnesses, have the right to know.
Apologies for the misplaced apostrophe in taxpayers', voice recognition software does its thing once again. PLEASE can we have the edit function back?
Good to see the Mini driver got nearly £1000 of costs on top of the fine and points, maybe they will think twice in future about wasting court time and taxpayer's money when they are so clearly bang to rights. This smacks of the usual defence lawyer stratagem of taking it to court in the hope that the witness won't show up.
This is the case for many pieces of cycling infrastructure IME - they are not actually that safe or at least not safer than riding on the road with the other traffic, often due to poor design. However, they make many inexperienced people FEEL much safer, and that is apparently more important than reality. Fortunately, just getting more people on bikes does make cycling safer for everyone who is cycling, and this seems to have worked in this case. Therefore, in a very roundabout way, having this infrastructure in place does increase overall safety. Of course, it would be even better if the infrastructure was done right / intelligently and did directly improve safety, but we can't have everything. Small steps.
In other words, they aren’t interested in preventative policing In other, other words: Get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do Disclaimer: ...unless any motorist objects on the grounds of 'war against the motorist', or the cyclist swears while being hit etc. etc.
Yes, that matches my experience with reporting to Kent Police over the last 4 years (they were more responsive before that, during a period when video could be uploaded as part of the initial report). In email communication I had with them in 2022, they confirmed that they deprioritise any report that does not state that a collision occurred. In other words, they aren't interested in preventative policing.
So that when you are at the side of the road in a heap on the ground after being mowed down and the indicator is still flashing the police can ignore it?
68 thoughts on “Marginal flaps? Ganna’s baggy skinsuit and stacked team car under scrutiny; I’m Gonna Bee (500 Miles): Andy Burnham says miserly active travel figures “wrong”; Lack of bike storage hinders commute; ITV on Highway Code changes + more on the live blog”
Discovered car centric cuture
Discovered car centric cuture in chester. Wanted to cross the road to carry on the other side. This required 3 separate ped crossings to achieve this.
And the bus/cycle lane was suspended !
When you can’t legally cycle
When you can’t legally cycle through the pedestrianised city centre, but the Duke of Westminster who basically owns all the land Chester is built on, can drive his Bentley (other over the top cars could be used) whenever he wants, through the same pedestrianised area, you know you’re fighting a losing battle.
Used to work there a decade ago. The cycling officer for the council couldn’t even ride a bicycle!
Ganna’s bagginess is not arm
Ganna’s bagginess is not arm warmers. With that picture of him on the turbo he’s clearly already changed into a jersey and shorts, it has absolutely nothing to do with the long sleeve skinsuit he raced in.
Wingguy wrote:
Not sure. It does look like he’s changed, as you say. But looking at the picture on the course, it does look to me as if the skin suit is short sleeved, with arm warmers. Look how smooth the material above the rainbow bands on his arms, and then ruffled immediately below.
No. You can see the ruffles
No. You can see the ruffles bleeding into the rainbow stripes and gradually smoothing out. This is simply because the material on the upper arm is tighter (though I’d imagine there’s also a seam where the bands are with a different material above and below). No way are they using separate armwarmers that are going to accidentally slip during a race – that’s insanity.
The answer to the elbow bags is the first and most obvious one offered – it’s precisely tailored to the elbow bend of that specific rider while in the TT position and nothing else.
I agree that on the turbo he
I agree that on the turbo he has changed into a jersey and shorts (you can see the bibs underneath the jersey), but that doesn’t preclude him having raced in a short sleeve skin suit with arm warmers; the racers were split yesterday between short sleeve and long sleeve suits, I would guess that Ganna was going to race in a short sleeve suit and then decided to add the arm warmers at the last minute.
Except that would be crazy
Except that would be crazy and he obviously didn’t.
Well, it’s certainly worth
Well, it’s certainly worth getting worked up about, by golly.
Rendel Harris wrote:
?? I was just stating the facts. You seem to think it’s worth getting personal over despite being very obviously wrong.
Wingguy wrote:
I’m not being personal at all, I just find it odd that you seem to have got in such a tizzy about some idle speculation about someone’s shirt.
Rendel Harris wrote:
That’s the very definition of personal. I’m not at all in a tizzy and there’s no reason you would honestly think I am. Rather, you seem to be embarrassed about being wrong and have tried to deflect attention from that by making personal comments instead.
Some other cycling websites
Some other cycling websites have some clearer pictures – looks to me like a long sleeve suit (and perfectly fitted when in aero position!)
Exactly. Ganna and Hayter’s
Exactly. Ganna and Hayter’s long sleeve skinsuits fitted to perfection when they were on the extensions, as they are obviously designed to do. Half fallen down arm warmers would not behave like this.
Baggy elbows huh? So I was
Baggy elbows huh? So I was pretty close then with my bingo wings.
In other counterintuitive aerodynamic news it appears that Jabba the Hutt was pretty streamlined too:
not surprising – if you have
not surprising – if you have ever seen a seal underwater, those things are as fast and graceful when swimming as they are slow and undignified on land.
What the actual
What the actual
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/i-didnt-think-over-limit-24177255?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=organic#l46pjpe7gh7gd0d5m5o
Ms Edmond’s suffered from a number of injuries including frontal brain damage. She had to have her full face rebuilt during a gruelling nine hour craniotomy surgery and has been left with a scar from ‘ear to ear’.
She also suffered from a broken femur, a broken wrist, damage to one of her kidneys and she was left with 10 percent vision in her right eye.
, as McVicar’s GP concluded that she falls under the Disability Act, she was given an absolute discharge from court without any time in jail. Instead, her driving licence will be sent to the Secretary of State to decide whether she will be disqualified.
How is anyone going to be protected against this callous woman?
I don’t get what disability
I don’t get what disability she has which means she can’t be jailed / banned / fined for what she did. She could drive, she could drink. Surely her family who she drank with should be charged for letting someone drive in her conditions then.
Justice around people with
Justice around people with cognitive impairments (and indeed their victims – recall the Janner case although that was also “priveledge”) is tricky. Currently the options of “what can be done” are very different once you go down this route (law here – basically secure hospital, “guardianship”, supervision and treatment order or discharge). The law acknowledges that the usual round of punishments would not be proper – if you can’t sensibly participate it’s not justice. Limiting “freedoms” (e.g. transport) for such people may also have a disproportionate effect on them.
However it looks like a major failure to join the dots here on driver licencing. We all know that so I’m sure the DVLA side of it will be in the forthcoming road safety review…
As for the “but essential transport” the sooner our streets look like this the less this will be a problem.
Hmm… on the one hand
Hmm… on the one hand letting her drive drunk – that seems open and shut. Is it currently a crime though? Don’t think you can be done for e.g. obstruction of justice unless you’re been identified as a witness? It’s into “conspiracy” charges where people are getting held accountable for the behaviour of others. Potentially a very dangerous area (“you knew – but you didn’t tell = you did it yourself!” in the limit; has been applied in several places).
Also they certainly have some responsibility (ignoring the drinking) if she doesn’t have full capacity. But then the state – rightly or probably wrongly – licenced her to drive…
Again the underlying issues is “joining the dots” and “ensuring drivers are still fit to drive”. We test just once. Also people generally have to “hand in their own licence” – making it seem more like a “right” that they’re voluntarily renouncing.
hirsute wrote:
That’s obscene. How can she be considered unfit to attend a court hearing and yet fit to drive?
Also, leaving the scene of the collision should be an immediate prison sentence and lifetime driving ban in my opinion.
Absolutely staggering. What
Absolutely staggering. What on earth does a claimed disability have to do with being convicted?
Along with her statement that she had ‘a’ Bacardi and coke. Given her measured BaC some considerable time later it must have been served to her in a bucket.
From the article she was
From the article she was deemed unfit to stand trial. At that point you cannot be convicted as such – as you cannot mount a defence, be cross examined etc.
hence the absolute discharge.
ehat it does mean is there should be no way the dvla don’t revoke her licence permanently. It also means that a civil claim against her is almost a certain win
Quote:
Erm – I would hope they don’t have to think very hard before lobbing it into the shredder…
Surely as long as she says
Surely as long as she says she believed implicitly that her driving was fine, it will be returned to her directly?
Quote:
O. M. F. G.
(I cannot bring myself to read BTL on that story, because I know what I’ll see…)
BTL is universally critical
BTL is universally critical of driver, judicial system and mysterious disability. And goodwill to now disabled victim. No anti cycling comments. I realise this is unprecedented!
M20MAMIL wrote:
I think that’s one of the portends of the end-times along with cats and dogs living together
hawkinspeter wrote:
hawkinspeter wrote:
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… MASS HYSTERIA!
I suppose it is because one
I suppose it is because one of the people is being seen as a benefit cheat with the mysterious disability compared to middle class lady not causing cars any bother as she is on the pavement.
Of course if said cyclist had hit somebody on the pavement…….
Referring to another part of
Referring to another part of this article ‘who rules Britain’s roads’, it certainly doesn’t seem to be the CPS or legal system!
How can someone be deemed
How can someone be deemed unfit to appear in court……. yet there remains a possibility that she could still be deemed fit to be in charge of a motor vehicle.
A Bacardi and Coke puts you twice over the legal limit? Nope it’s more likely to be about 8 or 9 units of alcohol, so around 1/3 of a bottle of Bacardi…. unless she is drinking Bacardi by the pint…. she was lying
Add in the aggrevating factors of the fact that she did a hit and run and the fact that she “hates cyclists” I just cannot understand how she could have avoided jail time even with her alleged disability.
TriTaxMan wrote:
That was one bit of it that I didn’t understand.
Imagine any other situation where you could openly admit that you hated the group of which your victim was a member, and where that wouldn’t be counted against you as making it aggravated whatever-the-crime-was.
brooksby wrote:
Nope I can’t. If it was any other situation it would be grounds for the judge moving towards the upper limit of the sentencing guidelines to start with. Could you imagine in a homophobic assault case the defendent saying “I hate gays” and the judge simply ignoring it? There would be outrage, and quite rightly so. Same if it was race related, religion related etc etc.
TriTaxMan wrote:
Until road danger is correctly addressed, I think we need cycling to become a protected characteristic. Though we suffer far less than other groups on a daily basis, I’d guess that more cyclists are unlawfully killed in the UK than any other protected group.
Yes – normally… but once
Yes – normally… but once the “mental incapacity” card’s in play all bets are off.
We don’t know the details here but e.g. had they already been assessed under the mental capacity act before court. If not then know this is not easy to initiate unless the person can be persuaded to consent. Otherwise it’s (rightly) hard to compel this. However that can certainly lead to difficult situations.
Again the issue’s the “licence … but really a ‘right’, so we don’t want to stop too many people”. Someone reminded me of the percentage of adult drivers – it’s most. And we’re only testing once per lifetime. There should be a conversation about connecting some major health issues with notifying the DVLA. See guidance for doctors but it seems to be very much in favour of “only tell the patient that they must tell the DVLA”. And it’s not obvious that this person would necessarily need to interact with the medics anyway.
TriTaxMan wrote:
The MEN story isn’t the clearest reporting. She was (rightly or wrongly) found unfit to stand trial, which means a normal criminal trial cannot take place, and instead a Trial of the Facts was carried out.
A Trial of the Facts cannot lead to a jail sentence as the accused is not convicted of a crime; it is only established that they did carry out certain acts. As the person is not convicted of a crime, they cannot be punished – the powers of the court are only options “designed to treat, rehabilitate and support while, in the most serious cases, providing protection for the public.” [source]. These can include supervision orders or hospital orders, but only when deemed necessary for the above purposes. Otherwise the result is an absolute discharge.
I note the MEN states she was found unfit to stand because she is considered disabled under “the Disability Act” which is bollocks because there is no such act – the most commonly cited act regarding disability would be the Equality Act but that is largely irrelevant here (if everyone who qualified as disabled under the Equality Act was unfit to stand trial there would be anarchy!) What I assume they meant is that she was found be “under a disability such as to constitute a bar to [her] being tried” (that phrase is from the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 but the actual determination of what constitutes a bar to being tried is only set out in common law, not statute).
As she has already caused the
As she has already caused the
deathserious injury of a person and doesn’t seem overly concerned about that, it seems a major mistake to not constrict her movements (e.g. hospital) to protect the public or at least other cyclists.It’s quite staggering that a person that is unfit to stand trial is allowed full control of 2 tonnes of speeding metal on the public roads.
I agree its pretty staggering
I agree its pretty staggering – as far as I can tell the problem is the two areas of legislation (driving and criminal proceedings) don’t really intersect. So being mentally unfit to stand trial is not (in itself) sufficient to mean someone cannot get or keep a driving licence; and the Court has no power to remove the driving licence following a Trial of the Facts.
There are various mental conditions which you are meant to inform the DVLA if you suffer from them, but it’s largely dependent on self-reporting, and even then you might be allowed to keep your licence.
(and she didn’t kill the cyclist, just caused life changing injuries…)
Yeah – I must have got
Yeah – I must have got confused between this case and other ones.
I think we need to switch around the law around driving licences after serious incidents. Rather than it being up to a court to deny/restrict the licence, it should be down to the driver to prove that they are still fit to drive i.e. automatically revoke the licence after the incident and re-instate it as or when there’s evidence that the driver wasn’t at fault. That way, being unable to attend a court hearing would automatically involve being de-licenced. (It’d make sense to allow the ex-driver to attend via video as they wouldn’t be able to drive to the court).
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Those would be the ‘recent’ changes that are nearly half a year old already? They’re certainly on the ball there.
mdavidford wrote:
Those would be the ‘recent’ changes that are nearly half a year old already? They’re certainly on the ball there.
The Bristol Post ran a story the other day, headlined as ‘news’. Which turned out to be a story about two boys in seventeen something finding a sea monster on a beach after a storm. So, only 300 years old… Makes ITV seem like they have their finger on the pulse.
“Who rules Britain’s roads?”,
“Who rules Britain’s roads?”, asks ITV.
Erm – nobody ‘rules the roads’. All road users share them (except the ones that some road users pay for but aren’t allowed to use eg. motorways).
What they mean is, “Why are we imposing restrictions by saying that you shouldn’t kill or injure more vulnerable people who are on the roads even though they don’t pay road tax / have insurance / whatever?”
But I suspect they won’t actually say that…
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The Queen. No-one else gets to travel around like this and not get close-passed.
Well I wont be watching to
Well I wont be watching to find out, show ITV you want to be watching the Womens Tour highlights instead, ITV4 8pm. Shaping up to be interesting stage today so far.
What’s a VCR?
What’s a VCR?
It’s like a Betamax but with
It’s like a Betamax but with poorer video quality
Awavey wrote:
More importantly, it’s like a Betamax but allows porn.
(Sony’s decision to ban porn from Betamax was likely the main reason that VHS won)
Edit: according to wikipedia it was VHS’s lower cost and longer recording time that won the war, but I still like to believe it was porn
Edited Edit: Changed VCR for VHS
Actually I believe VCR was
Actually I believe VCR was the generic term – Video Cassette Recorder. You are confusing it with VHS.
I remember this because in my small town I was the only kid at school who had a Betamax VCR. Everybody else had a V2000 because the only TV shop in town was a Phillips dealer.
For more info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI2eO_mNM88
SimoninSpalding wrote:
SimoninSpalding wrote:
You’re right – I’ve changed it to VHS.
After a brief search, it appears that Playboy did release stuff onto Betamax (possibly too late), so the whole porn angle is most likely a myth especially as porn didn’t make up a huge percentage of tape rental/sales.
I can imagine what your
I can imagine what your searches might have been turning up. And what alerts have been happening at your IT Dept.
Back on the porn stuff, wasn’t it easier and cheaper to film for cassette release with VHS then BM. Also I would be surprised if the percentage of sales didn’t actually shoot up, at least in America as the strong stuff was still banned over here.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Well VHS was much cheaper as it was licensed to just about anyone and the market was competitive. I think the tapes were cheaper too.
(Working in IT does have some advantages)
But it spoils a good joke
But it spoils a good joke
anyway with the demise of Betamax, VHS became synonymous and interchangeable with VCR, just like Hoover’s and vacuuming.
Hmmm, did the original bee
Hmmm, did the original bee network from Boardman mention EV charging points and bus routes?
Also you missed a trick that under Burnhams revised estimate, you could walk (cycle) 500 miles but will have to wait several more years to walk (cycle) 500 more.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Da da da (da da da)
Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
hawkinspeter wrote:
Yup – had to google that!
I thought everyone knew ‘I’m
I thought everyone knew ‘I’m Gonna Bee (Network)’.
Dunno about the Manchester
Dunno about the Manchester cycle provision – sounds like rain on their parade, but it’s Sunshine on Leith…
Re bike storage, and cycling
Re bike storage, and cycling to work – i bought Brompton 3-speed in 2005 in an effort to reduce time spent stuck in car traffic during my commute. 17 yrs later that same bike is carrying me 60 – 100 km approx per week, most weeks, (21 km each way commute) . I also recently saw a great review of a 9 speed disc-brake folder (Carrera ) on this website for very reasonable money. If you don’t fancy 16 inch wheels in a folder, it looks like there is a good 20 inch wheel option. So rather than wait for the infrastructure to be built, consider a folding option !
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Makes you wonder why J-V haven’t caught on to the same trick.
Oh…
Well “Who rules Britain’s
Well “Who rules Britain’s Roads” was nowhere near as bad as it might have been, with plenty of cyclists featured, including the excellent Duncan Dollimore from CUK and plenty of footage of baffled drivers who hadn’t read the HC in fifty years. Even had vids of dangerous driving around cyclists, cyclists without helmets and it explained the purpose of the new rules, even if they seemed to think that the law had changed when it hasn’t.
There were a couple of things to criticise of course; the presenter driving a car with an instructor and he kept glancing at her when he talked, the continual reference to “accidents” and the failure to ask the femal taxi driver about whether she thought she had the right to put other road users at risk.
Overall, a good solid seven, and a thousand times better than anything the BBC has done in the past ten years.
What did the female taxi
What did the female taxi driver do/say?
(I didn’t watch it – forgot it was on, and I’m ploughing through ‘Lucifer’ on Netflix…)
brooksby wrote:
Something like the new rules would make driving much harder and she would have to keep her eyes on the road all the time.
I agree, much better than I
I agree, much better than I had expected.
One part I wasn’t happy about was the presenter demonstrating how to overtake a cyclist with the driving instructor in the passenger seat. They passed slow, but it didn’t look like they gave much space and completely ignored the parked vehicles they were approaching and thereby boxing in the cyclist (they should have waited until after the parked cars). Lots of relief afterwards when they celebrated “passing the cyclist safely”. And then showed footage of a perfect pass immediately afterwards.
I missed the taxi driver because my daughter started telling me all about her exams or something… I’ll catch up on that bit later.
GT
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Did it come as a surprise to them that there was a TT the next day? One can understand this with hastily-painted yellow bikes for the leader etc, seems odd that a team as focused on detail as INEOS would be having kit delivered on the morning of the stage.
Rendel Harris wrote:
No one said they didn’t already have a skinsuit at the race. Skinsuits in recent years have become a field of non-stop development with almost every team leader’s suit at every race being a one-off prototype. If Bioracer have just had a shipment of new fabric or finalised a new pattern or construction technique they’ve been aiming to have ready for the Tour, but were able to rush through production to be able to test it at the Dauphine it makes perfect sense that detail focussed team would want to make that happen.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Did it come as a surprise to them that there was a TT the next day? One can understand this with hastily-painted yellow bikes for the leader etc, seems odd that a team as focused on detail as INEOS would be having kit delivered on the morning of the stage.
It’s called Just In Time Delivery – all part of the marginal gains ethos.